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One in five fail Windows validation checks

WGA the dog

See what The Register's experts have to say on application security

More than a fifth (22 per cent) of Windows installations failed tests on their authenticity, according to figures from tests conducted using Microsoft's controversial Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) tool.

More than 512 million tests against WGA have been conducted since July 2005 resulting in a failure rate of 22.3 per cent, according to figures from Microsoft released on Monday.

Users need to validate their operating system using WGA before downloading certain updates from the software giant.

Figures from the WGA audit are lower than those from the Business Software Alliance, which reckons 35 per cent of business software is counterfeit.

The WGA figures might be expected to come in lower as users knowingly running counterfeit copies of Windows are unlikely to voluntarily submit their systems to validation checks. ®

See what The Register's experts have to say on application security

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